The field of the invention is that of condition sensors, and the invention relates more particularly to sensors such as accelerometers having condition-responsive means which are mechanically movable for providing an electrical signal and which include electrical circuit means for conditioning the electrical signal.
Condition sensors such as capacitive accelerometers and the like of various types as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,194 to Rudolph, U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,737 to Colton, Reissue U.S. Pat. No. 31,549 to Block, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,240,073 to Pitzer are commonly used or proposed for use in aircraft and automotive applications and the like where the sensors are likely to be subjected to shock, vibration and severe temperature changes but where it would be desirable for the sensors to be inexpensive and to display reliable and accurate performance characteristics over a long service life. However, many such sensors have limited performance capability or are manufactured at excessive cost. It would be desirable if such sensors could be provided with improved reliability in performance and could be made at reduced cost to find wide application.
A related accelerometer device is shown in commonly-assigned, copending application for U.S. Pat., Ser. No. 07/628,249 filed Dec. 17, 1990 (18442).